Engineering news
The Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy, formed from the Education and Business Select Committees, finds that the Apprenticeship Levy and the target of three million 'starts' by the end of the Parliament are unduly focused on simply raising participation levels.
The committee says the government should place far greater emphasis on outcomes, judging success on whether apprentices secure employment. Ministers should also look to how apprenticeships can help close the skills gap, including by restructuring the levy on a sectoral and regional basis. The committee also warns that the three million target could hamper attempts to increase the quality of courses.
"Apprenticeships are vital if we are to close the skills gap, which could grow wider post-Brexit,” said Neil Carmichael, chair of the Education Committee and Co-Chair of the Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy. “We must train our young people for jobs that the economy needs, but the government has failed to show how its three million target and levy will help achieve this.”
The report also urges the government to produce an annual survey of performance against clear outcome measures such as completions, progressions to higher levels and relevant employment secured. Official figures show just 67% of apprenticeships were completed in 2015-16.
“Too much training remains sub-standard and detrimental to the career of apprentices and, more widely, the performance of our economy. The success of the government's reforms will ultimately be judged on whether the planned increase in the quantity of apprenticeships is matched by an increase in their quality," said Iain Wright, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee and Co-Chair of the Sub-Committee on Education, Skills and the Economy.
The report welcomes the creation of the Institute for Apprenticeships, which it expects will play a major role in improving quality in the future. However, it warns that the new body must be given sufficient capacity and independence if it is to succeed.
Welcoming the report’s findings, head of education and skills at at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Peter Finegold, said that the most challenging skills needs are in the Stem sectors, and "we welcome the committee’s proposal that the government publishes a document annually setting out shortages on a national, regional and sector-specific basis.”
The IMechE believes the greatest threat to the scheme’s ambitions is the poor promotion of technical courses in schools.
“There must be substantial investment in schools for teachers, pupils and parents to bring about a significant improvement in careers education, said Finegold. “Teachers should spend time in the modern workplace to understand the value of technical skills.”
Meanwhile, a new report has found that schools should focus less on "subjects" and more on teaching problem solving skills.
The report by the Royal Academy of Engineering says a focus on "playful experimentation" could boost learning throughout UK schools, could instil a passion for engineering and help overcome the shortage of engineers.
It also urges professional engineers to dedicate some of their time to working with pupils and teachers in schools.
The report studied the effects of three pilot schemes to unite the worlds of education and engineering, which ran in England and Scotland from 2014 to 2016 across 33 schools and a further education college and involved 3,000 pupils and 84 teachers.